:Virginia Halas McCaskey

She was the eldest child of Bears founder and owner George Halas and Minnie Bushing Halas.{{cite news |title=Heirs and Bears: The mysterious McCaskeys |url=http://www.suntimes.com/sports/2134804,CST-SPT-sean01.article |date=April 1, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100404004925/http://www.suntimes.com/sports/2134804,CST-SPT-sean01.article |archive-date=April 4, 2010 |url-status=dead |work=Chicago Sun-Times |last1=Jensen |first1=Sean}} Virginia attended Drexel University, majoring in business management{{cite web |title=Virginia Halas McCaskey celebrates 100th birthday |url=https://www.chicagobears.com/news/virginia-halas-mccaskey-celebrates-100th-birthday-thursday |website=Chicago Bears |date=January 5, 2023 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20240918234824/https://www.chicagobears.com/news/virginia-halas-mccaskey-celebrates-100th-birthday-thursday |archive-date=September 18, 2024 |url-status=live |last1=Mayer |first1=Larry |access-date=December 14, 2024}} with the aspiration of serving as her father's secretary.{{cite web |title=Virginia McCaskey passes away at 102; All about the 'faith, family, and football' of the late 'Chicago Bears' owner |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/etimes/trending/virginia-mccaskey-passes-away-at-102-all-about-the-faith-family-and-football-of-the-late-chicago-bears-owner/articleshow/118029212.cms |website=The Times of India |access-date=February 7, 2025 |date=February 7, 2025}} She was an active member of the local Pi Sigma Gamma sorority, the Newman Club, the Panhellenic Council, and the YWCA.{{Cite web |last=Shaak |first=Natalie |date=November 10, 2011 |title=Drexel Fraternities and Sororities History Presentation |url=http://drexel.edu/studentlife/~/media/Drexel/EMSS-Site-Group/StudentLife/Documents/activities-involvement/fraternity-sorority/Fraternity--Sorority-History-PPT.pdf |access-date=February 7, 2025}} - lists chapters that existed at Drexel University; the Pi Sigma Gamma chapter there was founded after the national Pi Sigma Gamma organization closed/was absorbed into another organization.

Her first recollection of attending a Bears game was at the age of two years old, traveling with her father on a barnstorming tour starring Bears back Red Grange.{{Cite web |last=Battista |first=Judy |author-link=Judy Battista |date=February 6, 2025 |title=Bears owner Virginia Halas McCaskey dies at 102: A life inextricably linked to Chicago franchise |url=https://www.nfl.com/news/bears-owner-virginia-halas-mccaskey-dies-at-102-a-life-inextricably-linked-to-chicago-franchise |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250207075306/https://www.nfl.com/news/bears-owner-virginia-halas-mccaskey-dies-at-102-a-life-inextricably-linked-to-chicago-franchise |archive-date=February 7, 2025 |access-date=February 7, 2025 |website=National Football League |language=en-US}} She attended her first NFL Championship game, the 1932 NFL Playoff Game, at age 8.{{cite web |title=Mama Bear has a local tie |url=https://lancasteronline.com/sports/mama-bear-has-a-local-tie/article_d30374f0-6bf7-5c5f-b3f1-60c644c09cbd.html |website=Lancaster Online |date=February 1, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240105222847/https://lancasteronline.com/sports/mama-bear-has-a-local-tie/article_d30374f0-6bf7-5c5f-b3f1-60c644c09cbd.html |archive-date=January 5, 2024 |url-status=live |access-date=January 5, 2024}} She was also in attendance for the first indoor NFL game that same season, and the Bears' victory in the 1940 NFL Championship Game.{{cite web |title=Column: Chicago Bears owner Virginia McCaskey turns 100 — and her pride and optimism for the franchise still resonate |url=https://www.bostonherald.com/2023/01/05/column-chicago-bears-owner-virginia-mccaskey-turns-100-and-her-pride-and-optimism-for-the-franchise-still-resonate/ |website=Boston Herald |date=January 5, 2023 |access-date=January 5, 2024 |archive-date=January 5, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240105223211/https://www.bostonherald.com/2023/01/05/column-chicago-bears-owner-virginia-mccaskey-turns-100-and-her-pride-and-optimism-for-the-franchise-still-resonate/ |url-status=live }}

Officially, she was the secretary of the Bears franchise, as well as a member of the team's board of directors.{{cite web |title=Front Office: Chicago Bears |url=https://www.chicagobears.com/team/front-office/ |website=Chicago Bears |access-date=August 26, 2018 |archive-date=August 27, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180827095354/https://www.chicagobears.com/team/front-office/ |url-status=live }} However, she was empowered to vote the shares of her children and grandchildren as well as her own. Between them, McCaskey and other Halas heirs own 80% of the Bears.{{Cite magazine |last=Wertheim |first=Jon |date=July 17, 2018 |title=The Family Ownership Dramas That Roil the NFL |url=https://www.si.com/nfl/2018/07/16/nfl-succession-family-ownership-bowlen-benson-adams-mccaskey |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180827005347/https://www.si.com/nfl/2018/07/16/nfl-succession-family-ownership-bowlen-benson-adams-mccaskey |archive-date=August 27, 2018 |access-date=August 26, 2018 |magazine=Sports Illustrated}} The franchise has been in the hands of the Halas-McCaskey family since George Halas acquired the then-Decatur Staleys from A. E. Staley and moved the team to Chicago in 1921, renaming the team the Bears the following year. The Bears have been owned by the same family for longer than any other family has owned an NFL team.{{cite web |title=Virginia Halas McCaskey's Net Worth: How the Chicago Bears Owner Made Her Fortune |url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/virginia-halas-mccaskey-s-net-worth-how-the-chicago-bears-owner-made-her-fortune/ar-AA1odAUM |website=MSN |date=August 4, 2024 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250207204721/https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/virginia-halas-mccaskey-s-net-worth-how-the-chicago-bears-owner-made-her-fortune/ar-AA1odAUM |archive-date=February 7, 2025 |url-status=live |last1=Edwards |first1=Colton |publisher=Pro Football Network |access-date=December 5, 2024}}

George Halas had initially intended for Virginia's younger brother George "Mugs" Halas Jr. to inherit the team, and passed the team presidency to him in 1963. However, Mugs died suddenly of a heart attack in 1979. Thus, it was Virginia who inherited the Bears when her father died four years later.{{Cite web |last=Edel, Victoria |date=February 6, 2025 |title=Virginia Halas McCaskey, Chicago Bears Owner, Dies at 102 |url=https://people.com/virginia-halas-mccaskey-dead-chicago-bears-8762741 |access-date=February 7, 2025 |website=People.com}}

During her tenure as owner, the Bears won Super Bowl XX in 1986, two seasons after "Papa Bear's" death.{{cite web |title=Virginia McCaskey 'pissed off' with struggling Bears |url=https://www.nfl.com/news/virginia-mccaskey-pissed-off-with-struggling-bears-0ap3000000451685 |website=National Football League |date=December 29, 2014 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20241127171327/https://www.nfl.com/news/virginia-mccaskey-pissed-off-with-struggling-bears-0ap3000000451685 |archive-date=November 27, 2024 |url-status=live |last1=Sessler |first1=Marc |access-date=August 26, 2018}} It was part of a run of five consecutive NFC Central titles from 1984 to 1988.{{cite web |title=Bears Beat Detroit to Win Title : Chicago Gains Home-Field Edge in NFC Playoffs |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-12-12-sp-86-story.html |website=Los Angeles Times |date=December 12, 1988 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20210124221637/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-12-12-sp-86-story.html |archive-date=January 24, 2021 |url-status=live |last1=Archives |first1=L. A. Times |access-date=February 7, 2025}} In 1986, she disbanded the team's cheerleading squad, the "Honey Bears", after ten years, arguing that their field performances were "sexist and degrading to women".{{cite web |last1=Brinson |first1=Will |title=Longtime Bears owner Virginia Halas McCaskey dies at the age of 102 after four decades of ownership |url=https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/longtime-bears-owner-virginia-halas-mccaskey-dies-at-the-age-of-102-after-four-decades-of-ownership/ |website=CBS Sports |access-date=February 7, 2025 |language=en |date=February 6, 2025}}

However, the team struggled in the 1990s, and since 1999 she had been a very hands-off owner.{{Cite magazine |date=July 20, 2018 |title=Virginia Halas-McCaskey-Chicago Bears |url=https://www.si.com/nfl/chicago-bears-owner-virginia-halas-mccaskey |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180827005337/https://www.si.com/nfl/chicago-bears-owner-virginia-halas-mccaskey |archive-date=August 27, 2018 |access-date=August 26, 2018 |magazine=Sports Illustrated}} Her son Michael McCaskey was team president from 1983 to 1999, when Virginia fired him,{{cite web |last1=Pierson |first1=Don |title=Michael McCaskey ousted as president of the Chicago Bears |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1999/02/10/michael-mccaskey-ousted-as-president-of-the-chicago-bears/ |website=Chicago Tribune |access-date=February 7, 2025 |date=February 10, 1999 |archive-date=October 1, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241001155100/https://www.chicagotribune.com/1999/02/10/michael-mccaskey-ousted-as-president-of-the-chicago-bears/ |url-status=live }} though he remained as chairman of the board until May 6, 2011, when his brother George assumed the position.{{cite web |title=Michael McCaskey to Retire as Bears Chairman |url=http://archive.boston.com/sports/football/articles/2010/04/21/michael_mccaskey_to_retire_as_bears_chairman/ |website=Boston.com |date=April 21, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180827145331/http://archive.boston.com/sports/football/articles/2010/04/21/michael_mccaskey_to_retire_as_bears_chairman/ |archive-date=August 27, 2018 |url-status=live |last1=Gano |first1=Rick |publisher=Associated Press |access-date=August 27, 2018}} George McCaskey had been the Bears ticket office director since 1991.{{cite web |title=Addressing issues: A new McCaskey takes the helm |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/breaking/cbsports-addressing-issues-a-new-mccaskey-takes-the-helm-20110506,0,2750455.story |website=Chicago Tribune |date=November 1, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111101134518/http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/breaking/cbsports-addressing-issues-a-new-mccaskey-takes-the-helm-20110506,0,2750455.story |archive-date=November 1, 2011 |url-status=dead |last1=Briggs |first1=Brad |access-date=November 21, 2020}} The team president currently has operational control; when Ted Phillips assumed the post in 1999, it marked the first time in the NFL portion of franchise history that a Halas or McCaskey had not held that title,{{cite web |title=Ted Phillips-President and CEO |url=https://www.chicagobears.com/team/front-office/ted-phillips |website=Chicago Bears |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211126124553/https://www.chicagobears.com/team/front-office/ted-phillips |archive-date=November 26, 2021 |url-status=dead |access-date=August 26, 2018}} and this has continued under current president/CEO Kevin Warren, who succeeded Philips on January 12, 2023.{{cite web |title=Kevin Warren |url=https://www.chicagobears.com/team/front-office/kevin-warren |website=Chicago Bears |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250108225736/https://www.chicagobears.com/team/front-office/kevin-warren |archive-date=January 8, 2025 |url-status=live |access-date=February 7, 2025}}

Halas's husband, Ed McCaskey, was previously the chairman and treasurer of the Bears. Although McCaskey never had any official share of ownership, he acted as co-owner alongside his wife before his death in 2003.{{cite web |title=It's 4th Down For Halas Heirs In Family Feud |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1987/08/30/its-4th-down-for-halas-heirs-in-family-feud/ |website=Chicago Tribune |date=August 30, 1987 |last1=Warren |first1=James |access-date=August 26, 2018 |archive-date=March 26, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240326121910/https://www.chicagotribune.com/1987/08/30/its-4th-down-for-halas-heirs-in-family-feud/ |url-status=live }}

On January 21, 2007, she accepted the NFC Championship trophy, which bears her father's name. She called it "her happiest day so far", after the Bears had beaten the New Orleans Saints to earn a trip to Super Bowl XLI.{{Cite web |last=Fusfeld |first=Adam |date=January 29, 2011 |title=Meet the 88-year-Old Grandmother Who's One Win Away From the Super Bowl |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/meet-the-nice-little-old-lady-whos-an-nfl-icon-2011-1 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180827075301/https://www.businessinsider.com/meet-the-nice-little-old-lady-whos-an-nfl-icon-2011-1 |archive-date=August 27, 2018 |access-date=August 26, 2018 |website=Business Insider}}

McCaskey was one of ten female NFL owners in 2022, including Sheila Ford Hamp (Detroit Lions), Amy Adams Strunk (Tennessee Titans), Kim Pegula (Buffalo Bills), Carol Davis (Las Vegas Raiders), Denise DeBartolo York (San Francisco 49ers), Gayle Benson (New Orleans Saints), Janice McNair (Houston Texans), Jody Allen (Seattle Seahawks), and Dee Haslam (Cleveland Browns).{{cite web |title=Who Is the Houston Texans' Owner? History of the McNair Family |url=https://www.profootballnetwork.com/who-is-houston-texans-owner-history/ |website=Pro Football Network |date=September 15, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413050413/https://www.profootballnetwork.com/who-is-houston-texans-owner-history/ |archive-date=April 13, 2021 |url-status=live |last1=Reyna |first1=Lorenzo |access-date=February 6, 2025}}

After the death of Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson in March 2014, she became the oldest owner in the NFL and in all major league sports in the United States.{{cite web |title=Billionaire Girls' Club: 4 of sports' richest team owners are women |url=https://www.foxsports.com/nfl/story/forbes-list-richest-owners-steve-ballmer-denise-york-gail-miller-joan-tisch-martha-ford-030116 |website=Fox Sports |date=May 1, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180827005338/https://www.foxsports.com/nfl/story/forbes-list-richest-owners-steve-ballmer-denise-york-gail-miller-joan-tisch-martha-ford-030116 |archive-date=August 27, 2018 |url-status=live |last1=Vergara |first1=Andre |access-date=August 26, 2018}}

After the death of Arizona Cardinals owner Bill Bidwill in October 2019, McCaskey became the longest-tenured owner in the NFL.{{cite web |title=Succession plan in place for New Orleans Saints and Pelicans to remain with Tom Benson's family |url=https://www.nola.com/sports/saints/article_bac7ad58-583f-5f7a-ac33-979e72d7d4f5.html |website=The Times-Picayune{{!}}The New Orleans Advocate |date=March 29, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191224032123/https://www.nola.com/sports/saints/article_bac7ad58-583f-5f7a-ac33-979e72d7d4f5.html |archive-date=December 24, 2019 |url-status=live |last1=Duncan |first1=Jeff |access-date=December 24, 2019}}

In 2023, she was named as a semifinalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.{{cite web |title=Steve McMichael, Virginia Halas McCaskey among Hall of Fame semifinalists |url=https://www.chicagobears.com/news/steve-mcmichael-virginia-halas-mccaskey-among-hall-of-fame-semifinalists |website=Chicago Bears |date=July 12, 2023 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20241006214837/https://www.chicagobears.com/news/steve-mcmichael-virginia-halas-mccaskey-among-hall-of-fame-semifinalists |archive-date=October 6, 2024 |url-status=live |last1=Hajduk |first1=Gabby}}

McCaskey was known for being "proudly private" pertaining to the team her father built, rarely discussing the business aspect of her life. She married Ed McCaskey in 1943, they had 11 children and 21 grandchildren, 40 great-grandchildren, and 4 great-great-grandchildren. McCaskey was a Catholic and considered "faith, family, and football" indivisible in her life.{{cite web |title=Faith, Family, Football |url=https://www.lebow.drexel.edu/news/faith-family-football |website=Drexel University |date=December 20, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211126124551/https://www.lebow.drexel.edu/news/faith-family-football |archive-date=November 26, 2021 |url-status=live |accessdate=May 22, 2021}}{{cite news |last=Finley |first=Patrick |url=https://www.wbez.org/obituary/2025/02/06/virginia-mccaskey-bears-obit-dies-102-halas |title=Chicago Bears matriarch Virginia McCaskey dies at 102 |work=WBEZ |date=February 6, 2025 |archive-date=February 6, 2025 |access-date=February 6, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250206180100/https://www.wbez.org/obituary/2025/02/06/virginia-mccaskey-bears-obit-dies-102-halas |url-status=live }}

McCaskey turned 100 on January 5, 2023.{{cite web |title=Bears' Virginia McCaskey turns 100-years-old Thursday |url=https://wgntv.com/sports/bears-report/bears-virginia-mccaskey-turns-100-years-old-thursday/ |website=WGN-TV |date=January 5, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230117132059/https://wgntv.com/sports/bears-report/bears-virginia-mccaskey-turns-100-years-old-thursday/ |archive-date=January 17, 2023 |url-status=live |last1=Hawley |first1=Larry |access-date=January 7, 2023}} She died on February 6, 2025.{{Cite news|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/02/06/virginia-mccaskey-chicago-bears-owner-dies/|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|date=February 6, 2025|title=Virginia McCaskey, the principal owner of the Chicago Bears and George Halas' daughter, dies at 102|author=Pierson, Don|archive-date=February 7, 2025|access-date=February 6, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250207003648/https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/02/06/virginia-mccaskey-chicago-bears-owner-dies/|url-status=live}} She was buried beside her husband at All Saints Cemetery in Des Plaines, Illinois.

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Category:1923 births

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